The Community-Based Care Coordinator will work in the community providing extensive care coordination to help families with children who have mental and behavioral health needs access a range of community services and resources. The Care Coordinator will have an opportunity to strengthen the ability of families within greater Norwalk to meet the multiple needs of their children. This position requires that the candidate be comfortable with initiating active community outreach to maintain and establish resources, public speaking and group facilitation. A fluent speaker in Spanish and English is required.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Conduct evaluations of children and families, preferably in their home environment, to assess service needs and supports.
• Promote family stabilization by identifying all needed and desired services and address barriers to accessing services as they arise.
• Work with families to develop service plans and Child and Family Teams, facilitating Team meetings and make service and case management recommendations that are flexible, culturally sensitive and responsive to the individual needs of each child and family.
• If warranted, work alongside a mental health clinician to ensure that the therapeutic needs of the students and their caregivers/families are met.
• Work as a liaison between the school district and the student/family to ensure optimal communication and support student development.
• Provide crisis intervention, evaluations, plans and referral services.
• Develop and maintain relationships with community agencies and professionals who can meet the needs of clients.
• Attend any necessary community or and state-wide meetings to represent/advocate for the children and families being served.
• Ability to offer evening appointments two nights per week as necessary.

Qualifications and Skills:

• BA / BS degree, preferably with a mental health-related major.
• Minimum one-year relevant experience, preferably in a child and family mental health setting.
• Provide community resource expertise to families, including identifying and collaborating with community-based service providers and supports.
• Familiarity with mental health diagnosis, treatment and service systems.
• Verbal and written fluency in English and Spanish is required.
• Experience and competence working with individuals and families from culturally diverse backgrounds required (EOE).
• Computer skills, including MS Office; familiarity with electronic health record systems a plus.
• Ability to travel to family's homes and/or within the community

COMPETENCIES:

Must demonstrate the following competencies:

• Diversity and Inclusion:
  Employees must make every effort to:

• Treat others with respect
• Practice cultural humility
• Elicit and welcome different points of view

• Integrity:
  Act ethically with honesty and consistency regardless of the situation. Employees must make every effort to:

• Be accountable for his or her own actions
• Make decisions based on what is better for the families and employees
• Build and maintain trust among co-workers and our families
• Uphold honesty in all actions

• Excellence:
  Commitment to deliver outstanding practices in both managing the organization, service delivery, and collaborating with partners. Employees must make every effort to:

• Utilize data and research to provide the highest quality of care
• Regularly participate in professional development to stay abreast of most recent and progressive practices
• Promote continuous quality assessment and improvement

• Communication:
  The ability to express oneself clearly and professionally both in writing, conversations, and in nonverbal communication with others. Employees must make every effort to:
  

• Oral Communication

• Fluent speaker in both Spanish and English
• Speak clearly and in an organized manner that can be easily understood
• Express ideas concisely and respectfully
• Summarize or paraphrase his/her understanding of what others have said to verify understanding and prevent miscommunication
• Hold herself or himself accountable for pitch, speed, tone and volume of voice while speaking
• Show understanding of professional and cultural implications of body posture, stance, gestures, proximity to listener, facial expressions and appearance
  

• Written Communication

• Write clear and concise sentences devoid of grammatical and spelling errors in both Spanish and English
• Tailor writing style to the audience of the message
• Write in a respectful and tactful manner

SKILLS:

Must be able to demonstrate:

• Proven ability to follow clinics protocols as well as making independent decisions in the best interest of the families while working both in the office and in the field
• Proven ability to communicate with families as well as with other providers such as police investigators, attorneys, court advocates and judges among others
• Knowledge of community resources commonly needed to support victims of crimes and proven ability to identify and link families and individuals to the appropriate community resources
• Proven ability to navigate the court system to support victims of crime i.e. support individuals getting restraining orders against perpetrators-support victims during forensic interviews etc.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain healthy boundaries between personal and professional responsibilities to be able to function in a high stress job
• Proven ability to manage conflict appropriately and advocate for victims of violence
• Family Engagement:
  • Knowledge of person centered care
  • Appropriate guidance and facilitation skills of families in the context of the culture, health status, and health needs
• Technical:
  • Knowledge of basic group skills
  • Basic negotiation skills
  • Ability to delegate tasks, responsibilities, etc.
  • Excellent time management skills

Reporting Relationships:

The Community-Based Care Coordinator will report to the Director of Community-Based Services.